Recommend a wireless router?

jester77

Hi,
I'm fairly new to the ways of wireless, so be gentle.

I've just moved to Germany and I'm getting DSL installed soon, €37.90 for 2Mb/192Kb (no limits) and telephone connection. Not a bad deal. I could pay an extra €4.90 every month and get a basestation for WLAN, take it they mean wireless router?? But in the long run, prob cheaper to get my own.

There is no mention of what the modem they provide is, so what I'm asking is will any router work with any modem?? And can you recommend a good one, I see Linksys mentioned alot? Preferably one that works with b/g frequencys.

Also my laptop has a built in card but not my PC, any recomendations for a good PC card to replace my modem??

Thanks!

irlrobins

Linksys wrt54G router works well for me. 4 wired ports as well as wireless. easy to set up. Supports b and g. But as always its always best not to mix as it will drop down to b speeds to support all devices.

as for card for PC WMP54G or WUSB54G will suit. Linksys have always worked very well for me.

zoro

WAP54G - best. investment. ever.

has a built in DSL modem thought, just in case you're not looking for that ... the WRT54G is the same box but without the built in modem.

I recommend the WMP54G for the PC cards too.

ricey

ya gotta agree with ye lads got one the other day
and its top notch

Mac daddy

Linksys WRT54GS - quality router -

Plus the hacked firmwares that you can get are quality.

vibe666

ditto on the linksys. can't be beaten imho.

jester77

Thanks guys. Think I'll got with the Linksys

Any advantage to getting the WAP54G (built in modem & router) over the WRT54GS (router) (apart from not having 2 boxes) as they are close to the same price? Would it eliminate compatibility issues that might arise with the modem I'm getting, don't know what it is, just that it's worth €159 and they are giving it for free with the connection.

Also what extra's does the hacked firmware provide?

karltimber

Hope you don't mind me piggy-backing on this thread instead of starting a new one --

Just about to get BT BB 1 meg - have a laptop & a desktop upstairs.
Apart from the modem they give me - will this package work ok.

http://komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=304347&cks=PLC

Is there anything else I need to hook up laptop or desktop ?

thx again lads

el_gaucho

karltimber wrote:

Hope you don't mind me piggy-backing on this thread instead of starting a new one --

Just about to get BT BB 1 meg - have a laptop & a desktop upstairs.
Apart from the modem they give me - will this package work ok.

http://komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=304347&cks=PLC

Is there anything else I need to hook up laptop or desktop ?

thx again lads

karl,
that should work ok. i have a similar set up using a belkin router with a 3com USB adapter like the one in the kit at komplett (i think mines an older model). the connection is fast, however i do have a problem now with the connection being dropped every now and then, especially when downloading despite good signal strength. my flatmate has a laptop with a CNET PCI adapter and has the same problem. i have searched for solutions (unsuccessfully so far). if anyone has any ideas........
anyway i would say its a good idea to buy the kit so the adapter and router are from the same manufacturer to ensure better compatability. i would point out though that a couple of people have suggessted to me that a network card (the one that fits inside the PC) might be more reliable than a USB adapter.
how much is BT BB? im with ESat. the connection is good but service is terrible so im changing when the contract expires in a few months.
cheers.

karltimber

el_gaucho

thx for the reply
I am with eircom at the moment and spend e20 on line rental and about e10 on dial up a month.the 1 meg bb package is e40 incl line rental with cheaper calls than Eircom. so bb for an extra e10 a month + only e15 (+10 for line) for the first 4 mths.

have a look at www.btireland.ie for all the details

thx

vibe666

the hacked firmwares do practically anything you can think of tbh. anything from just giving you a few more wifi channels to play with (in case all the others are in use) to using the router as a full blown wifi ISP (if you had the bandwidth to support it).

i use my hacked firmware specifically to allow better QoS so that I can still surf the net whilst using p2p software without choking my connection. it's not perfect with the 128kbps uploads, but it's better than it was. as soon as the uploads increase it'll work a lot better.

zoro

jester77 wrote:

Thanks guys. Think I'll got with the Linksys

Any advantage to getting the WAP54G (built in modem & router) over the WRT54GS (router) (apart from not having 2 boxes) as they are close to the same price? Would it eliminate compatibility issues that might arise with the modem I'm getting, don't know what it is, just that it's worth €159 and they are giving it for free with the connection.

Also what extra's does the hacked firmware provide?

Well if you have 2 boxes, then you've an extra point of failure, and it'll take longer to setup (I think)
It'd just be easier in the long run to have one box to do everything for you.

And besides - the WAP54G is superb anyway

jester77

Thanks zoro, sounds like a better option.
Would it be possible to add a printer (built in print server) to the WAP54G?
I know the WRT54GS has 4 ethernet port connections.

zoro

well if it's ethernet then sure - but i know nothing about wireless printing except that it sounds COOL

vibe666

i'm pretty sure you can get a little usb to wifi print server if that's the way you want to go. ither that or you can definately get usb to wired ethernet print servers. hp's jetdirect boxes are one that springs to mind.

i have one somewhere, but i can't find it at the moment. torn between using it myself and selling it. if i ever find the thing.

jester77

Cheers guys!
Just signed the DSL contract and my modem should arrive this week. So will order the WAP54G to replace it. Just one final question on installation, I'm having the modem posted to me and I have to do the install myself.
I take it that the modem just plugs straight into the phoneline?
Does the modem have a jack for plugging my phone in so that I can make calls or how does this work?

m_stan

I have a NETGEAR DG834G and find it great. Very very easy to setup and configure. It's an all-in-one adsl modem, router, switch, wireless ap, and firewall. Gotta love the fact that it does all this in one box !

http://www.netgear.com/products/details/DG834G.php

Got mine off EBay for 70 Euro inc shipping.

karltimber

So,

If I get this router - NETGEAR DG834G - I won't need my BT modem ?

What is the best way to connect to an upstairs desktop with-out hard wiring it -- a usb dongle or a pci card antenna.

any suggestions please.

Chong

First off i got bb monday and bought a D-Link wireless adsl router which I fine excellent. So the minute I went live I didnt have to wait for the ISP's modem.

The modem you should get comes with regular phone wire which hooks into the back of the modem.

To use the phone you get a couple of filters of which they are called. These are like adapters you put on the end of each phone.

karltimber

where are ye buying the linksys WAP54G from ???

is this a good price --http://www.comet.co.uk/comet/html/cache/117471.html


what about a pci card for a pc - any sugggestions --

thx

LeperKing

Asus wl 500g deluxe
http://www.jes-computer.de/product_info.php?pID=20047
ftp/usb camera & printer capabilities, and then there is custom firmware
http://wl500g.info/forumdisplay.php?f=8

karltimber

Question:

what is the difference between a wireless router and a wireless access point.

Just about to get BT BB and want wireless connection to a pc & laptop -
Will the Linksys WAP54G connect straight to the telephone line and give me wireless access to both pc (wireless enabled) & laptop or should I get a wireless router instead.

If a wireless router and PCi card are needed - will these suffice. will I still need to use the BT modem ??

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=306148&cks=PRL --linksys router
http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=306151&cks=PRL --linksys pcu card

Just not sure what the diff is between the two - wrt & wap.

****2pm friday***
was told by a work colleague that the Netgear DG834GUK 54Mbps Wireless ADSL Firewall Router + 4 port 10/100 switch will do the trick --- the above ones from komplett do not have a modem built into them !!!!

dub45

karltimber wrote:

Question:

what is the difference between a wireless router and a wireless access point.

Just about to get BT BB and want wireless connection to a pc & laptop -
Will the Linksys WAP54G connect straight to the telephone line and give me wireless access to both pc (wireless enabled) & laptop or should I get a wireless router instead.

If a wireless router and PCi card are needed - will these suffice. will I still need to use the BT modem ??

http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=306148&cks=PRL --linksys router
http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=306151&cks=PRL --linksys pcu card

Just not sure what the diff is between the two - wrt & wap.

****2pm friday***
was told by a work colleague that the Netgear DG834GUK 54Mbps Wireless ADSL Firewall Router + 4 port 10/100 switch will do the trick --- the above ones from komplett do not have a modem built into them !!!!

Yes your colleague is right. An access point is one of the names given to an all in unit - router plus modem. If you are generally inexperienced I think they are a better buy as the difference in price between the gateway and the access point is now quite small and the access point is easier to set up. Argos are now selling this Linsys all in one or gateway for 100 euros and thats excellent value.

Snowbat

zoro wrote:

WAP54G - best. investment. ever.

has a built in DSL modem thought, just in case you're not looking for that ... the WRT54G is the same box but without the built in modem.

WAP54G is just an access point - no modem.
WAG54G is the router with onboard DSL modem. (Note: only hardware version 2 runs Linux and has the possibility of third party firmwares http://www.seattlewireless.net/index.cgi/WAG54G)

dub45 wrote:

An access point is one of the names given to an all in unit - router plus modem.

Whoever told you that has no clue what they're talking about. An access point relays data between a wired network and a wireless network. Some models can also relay between two wireless networks. Nothing more (no modem, no DHCP, no NAT)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Access_point

SouperComputer

agree with snowbat with one exception, some AP's have a DHCP server built in.